


Love and The Hunter

by catmac



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Ficlet, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Kissing, M/M, considering sunny fandom this is pretty chill fic, implied eating disorder, not really but im tagging it just to be sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 18:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13059612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catmac/pseuds/catmac
Summary: Lord Reynolds and his valet Mac spend a casual morning together while preparing for fancy lunch with Lady Maureen later.Vaguely Downtown Abbey inspired au, Mac has a love/hate relationship with his work and love life.





	Love and The Hunter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Switchadelphia (PumpkinHeadJones)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinHeadJones/gifts).



> I made this for Switchadelphia as part our ridiculous Downtown Abbey AU idea. So please don't quote me on my historical accuracy or take this too seriously. I do have other characters' places in this AU figured out but I kept it macdennis-focused so I wouldn't stray from the point too much.

The estate around the Paddington castle spread across lands from Hampshire to the south of Newbury, the sweeping parklands surrounded the main castle and were kept properly groomed throughout the year. Lord Reynolds didn’t care about the gardens and the landscape as much as he should but his wife used to and so the gardeners knew what to do to keep the acres presentable. Old lord was a grumpy short man who didn’t like to spend the extra penny but at the same time wished to look good in the eyes of his peers (mostly for business purposes) and so he couldn’t afford to neglect the foliage around his property.

Mac has always found the whole estate fascinating since he was a boy. It was majestic and radiated wealth and power, something his own family royally lacked. He would wish every night that one day he would own place like that. That he would be the Lord who commands his servants and organizes fancy dinners. But the universe had different plans.  
As a boy, he ended up in the castle anyway but not as one of the rich ones. His father, Luther, was arrested and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. Mac believed his father sacrificed himself for Lord Reynolds and as a token of gratitude lord took him under his wings and gave him a job. Every servant in Paddington castle knew the real truth which was that good old McDonald was just doing shady business for the Reynolds family and got caught. Simple as that. No gratitude or love was involved but Mac repressed that version of events as a little kid and would not believe if somebody told him otherwise.  
  
However, something good came out of it. He grew in the manor. He played with descendants of the old Lord; Denis and Deandra (who never forgot to remind him his place) and as the time went on he ended up being the valet of young Dennis Reynolds. There was no place for a friendship in the class dynamics that were in play but Mac wasn’t bothered by that. He knew that young Reynolds is fond him. He knew it and to Mac’s misfortune also literally everybody else.  
 

* * *

   
Mac wakes up early, his bed is uncomfortable and too small for his frame but he doesn’t complain. If he plays his cards right today he might end up sleeping in one of the fanciest rooms in the house. He goes to check the dressing room and instead of doing what a valet should do he bullies the maids into doing his work. They know that if they get into trouble Mac could be a useful connection because of his closeness to the family so they don’t complain too much.

Sometimes they even pity him because Dennis Reynolds is the most insufferable boss you can imagine. His wine is never poured properly when maids do it so doing something such as trimming his hair or shaving him must be simply the most treacherous task imaginable. Housemaids say Dennis' eyes are scary and that he ruins the reputation of every girl he meets but that is something that Mac doesn't have to begin with so he lets them believe that. He can’t read their emphatic eyes nor does he care to understand them. He just wants the job done so when his master wakes up everything is ready and he can get praised for it.  
  
Dennis is unusually bossy indeed. To the point that Mac feels like maybe he accidentally gets rougher with the blade and scissors than he needs to but he only tugs Dennis’ hair instead.  
  
“Hey, watch out. I would like to keep all my hair on my head when we are done with this.” Dennis hisses but his tone is not as aggravated as it usually is. There are hints of excitement and thrill entwined in the way he speaks. The reflection in the mirror he’s holding shows Mac the smug grin he decided to wear for breakfast today.  
  
“I need to look exceptionally good today. You know why?” Mac rolls his eyes. He knows but it is obvious somebody has the need to tell him anyway.

No. Why do you need to look good,” he pauses because the informal talk is a tricky thing in this relationship. “… _mylord_ ,” he adds eventually.  
  
Dennis ignores the delay and keeps checking his sharp jawline in the reflection. A slight shade of stubble is blooming on his face. Mac, who is standing behind him grooming him properly, glances at the mirror so their eyes meet.  
  
“Lady Maureen is coming to dine with us today. You remember her?” he asks with a grin on his lips.  
  
Mac tries to fish the name out of his memory but he doesn’t keep all Dennis’ conquests in his brain. It's a rinse and repeat for the boy anyway so it would be a waste of energy. God, he doesn’t even remember them himself. He has to have a journal with detailed descriptions to keep track of it. Mac knows he’s read it several times.  
  
“I can’t say I do.”  
  
“Are you serious? How can you not remember her? She visited us all the time when she was a little kid. We were running around naked in the gardens.”  
  
Mac’s eyebrows arch but he doesn’t say anything. He finishes trimming Dennis’ hair and checks if the razor he is going to use for the shaving is sharp enough. Dennis scoffs and continues his tirade, now a little bit more annoyed than before, falling right back to his old rhythm.

“It doesn’t matter what you remember anyway. She is insanely wealthy and beautiful and I am going to need to look presentable so don’t botch this.” Dennis closes his eyes and stays quiet for a couple of moments.  
  
Mac knows what this visit means. Frank has been trying to find a proper spouse for his oldest son for a couple of years now but each engagement was shorter than the previous one. Dennis sabotages them either by drinking or fooling around or simply just being himself sometimes. Mac doesn’t allow himself to think about how he is most likely doing it on purpose.  
  
When the shaving is done and Dennis’ face is as smooth as humanly possible Mac wipes the rest of the shaving cream with a towel. He is good at this but Frank made sure he would be with his series of punishments when young Mac dared to accidentally cut him. When the towel does its deeds Dennis licks his lips and glances briefly at himself (knowing that the result will be perfect) just to look at mac a second later.  
  
His eyes are a little bit glossy and semi-shut, Mac knows the look and he doesn’t like it. He’s been having an affair with Dennis for a really long time so on normal circumstances he would like to succumb into whatever is he planning but considering the already announced visitor he knew there is something more behind it. Dennis is going to flirt with Maureen the whole day and trying to be fun and charming just so he can freak out and backpedal a couple of days later. Mac will have to witness it and feel nauseous in his stomach from the sight of Dennis attempting to not be himself for a couple of days.  
  
Mac steps back, reaching for the razor blade, ready to clean it and move on to another step which would be picking Dennis’ clothes when slender pale fingers wrap around his wrist. There is a moment of hesitation where Mac technically could flinch away and fulfil his valet duties appropriately but he is simply not that kind of person. He is not that good of a valet either and so he suppresses the small smirk forming on his mouth and just freezes on the spot.  
  
Dennis pulls himself up, towel falling from his lap sliding on the chair where he was sitting just a moment ago. He keeps getting closer, making slow steps moving like a lion that’s about to hunt a prey but Mac knows too well who is the prey and who is the lion in this relationship. He doesn’t shift, his body is solid, his shoulders broad neatly covered in a fancy fabric of the suit (he could never afford) that is his uniform.  
  
Dennis bites his bottom lip again, he is close now, only a couple of inches from Mac’s face. The faint scent of the aftershave hits Mac’s nostrils and he feels his heart rate speed up. It is almost a miracle that he manages to keep his composure enough (while his eyes glance to look the other way) to talk.

“You should get dressed it’s almost nine,” he mutters trying to keep his chest from moving too fast and his eyes from seeing Dennis’ face. There is something about Mac’s eyes, and he knows it, that just gives away all his thoughts. He hopes Dennis is too egoistic to read it.  
  
“So what? Dee will handle it,” Dennis says but he falls silent suddenly because it feels too needy and desperate to ask for what he obviously wants.  
  
There is a small voice in Mac’s head that is telling him that there will always be some Maureen who will make him feel jealous and not good enough but it quickly fades away. Mac is good at lying to himself, he is also the master of repressing uncomfortable thoughts and seizing the moment when he wants to.  
  
His own hands grab Dennis’ shoulders and shift slowly down his shoulder blades until Dennis is firmly pressed against Mac’s chest. He feels thinner than usual, his frame is all bony and petite which makes Mac wonder if he had anything other for dinner but ports and sherries.  
  
But Dennis’ body sighs in relief as it relaxes and gives in to Mac's embrace. Mac has held and tasted him so many times before but he never grows bored of it. Dennis' whispers against his lips are as needy and weak as the true core of the man saying them but Mac enjoys every moment of it. He pretends because that's what Dennis wants from him and he doesn't like to disobey the commands. Not when they make him feel this important.  
  
Dennis feels triumphant as always when he thinks Mac gave in to his will and with the sudden burst of confidence and power his kisses become deeper and sloppier. Mac is hardly catching a breath but he will not pull away for that would be the end of it. It is the little moments when the world around them fades in a blur and there is no Maureen or wealth or games at play. There are only two men enjoying each other’s company.  
  
It is only when Mac feels Dennis’ body shifting against him in the desperate need for friction when he tilts his head aside and takes a deep breath, free of the intoxicating smell of the aftershave coming from his partner. His arms weaken and loosen the grip they were dominating over Dennis’ body, slowly sliding down his sides. Fingers linger desperate on his master’s hipbones for a little bit but Mac fights himself and steps back.  
  
There is a pink tilt decorating his cheeks and he does not look like somebody who is professional and composed but Dennis looks even worse. His brows are furrowed and lip rosy and pouty because this is not what he wishes for right now. Saying that though would be a sign of defeat and Dennis doesn’t want to lose just yet. His chin tilts high and he turns his back to Mac, looking at the fireplace across the room. Mac sighs softly.  
 

* * *

   
When Mac oversees how is the dinner progressing later that day Dennis is doing the most. He is incredibly successful at charming Lady Maureen who is giggling and laughing almost for the entire duration of the second course. Mac sees those little touches the girl is initiating. They are not appropriate but they are met with a warm welcome from her new _friend_.

Dennis looks purposely across the room to meet Mac’s eyes when Maureen gets tipsy on the wine and her interest in Reynolds is obvious to everybody in the room.  
Mac knows this is a payback and one of Dennis’ games so he fights to keep his calm. Maybe he will get drunk later in the stables with Charlie or maybe he is not done with Dennis yet.

Unfortunately for Reynolds, this game is a double-edged sword because when Frank notices how well is his plan progressing he offers a union almost immediately and Maureen eagerly agrees.

 


End file.
